Have Lab need HELP!!!

[fireman0684]

Needs to go through force fetch.

Winner winner, but if you aren't familiar with it take the dog to a trainer. Force fetch isn't easy to do

[Storm]

I recommend Waterdog first, absolutely because it builds off their natural drive and eagerness to please. Sometimes though, a dog just isn't cut out for bird dog training. As a last resort you can "force fetch" train him, whereby you turn fetching into an "order" and he'll walk on water to get a bird out of fear of being punished. I personally haven't done it, but have hinted over dogs that had been trained this way. You can't go in the back yard and "play" fetch after training this way.

If done the right way you should play first for a few fetches then work on retrieves then end the session with play. Force Fetch is used to get a reliable retrieve all the time from sit to sit. With out it you have dogs breaking ,playing or mouthing the bird and dropping it when and if they get back. My opinion but I have a different standard with a working dog.

[zr2chevy22]

If done the right way you should play first for a few fetches then work on retrieves then end the session with play. Force Fetch is used to get a reliable retrieve all the time from sit to sit. With out it you have dogs breaking ,playing or mouthing the bird and dropping it when and if they get back. My opinion but I have a different standard with a working dog.

That's what I have been doing. Start with a few fun retrieves then doing working retrieves then ending with a fun one. He's been doing those fine all the way up until a week ago when I took him out to the farm.

First bird at the farm was a fun one.. I tossed it he ran out to it nosed it then laid down by it. So I picked it up made him heeled and sit which he did without hesitation. Tossed it again he again ran over to it, nosed it and then this time came running back, heeled and sat down. I wrote it off as him being burnt out because I had been throwing retrieves in granny's yard before going to the farm and he was flawless. Took him to the farm cause I was gonna let him do some retrieves in the pond but once he started laying down by them decided to load him up and head back to grannys.

Well yesterday I went to a remote field by the house. I unloaded him and again tossed a fun retrieve. He ran over, nosed it then returned without the dummy and heeled and sat on his own. picked the dummy up.. walked back had him heel and sit again he did it without hesitation. Tossed the dummy and he took off like a bat out of hell to it, nosed it then came hauling *** back, heeled and sat.

Up until last week he would retrieve anything that was thrown including frozen birds, dummies with wings taped on, rubber dummies or canvas ones even a stick when my niece threw one.

That's why I'm mind boggled on why he won't retrieve them now.

[Storm]

Time to force break then ! Think of it like this he is a teenager and has to realize that he has to do this on your terms not his.

[zr2chevy22]

So I haven't played any retrieving games with the pup since the 7th. Took him out today for a long walk and then to the field to see if he'd retrieve. I tossed his little football he hauled *** out picked it up and brought it back. I'm thinking good the holding back on retrieving worked. So I had him hand me his football and pulled out a canvas dummy. Tossed it out and when I released him he took off towards it. Ran up to it sniffed it and then came running back to heel and sat down without the dummy. I'm doing everything the same between the football and the dummy. Don't know what's going on in his head.

So I grab a Dokken dove dummy and tossed it out and release him. He runs out to it picks it up and brings it back. Again I'm totally mind boggles. It's like he won't pick up canvas or the plastic bumpers.

I know ya'll are recommending to force fetch him but I really don't want to do this quite yet. I want to break this before force fetching him. He's currently only 9 months and 2 weeks old. I've been working on the hold command and he'll sit there and hold the dummy in his mouth till I tell him to hand but just isn't picking the bumpers up off the ground

[Planner]

My first lab was like this. I read and followed the Wolters book and when he was a puppy he'd fetch but was never really "into" it. At some point he basically started doing exactly what you describe. This had absolutely zero impact on his ability to fetch birds. As soon as we would hit the field, he knew exactly what to do and would find, flush and retrieve birds all day long. I can understand this may not be ideal if you are trying to train for field trials, but it worked for me because all I wanted a dog who could hunt. My second lab is a totally different story. She'll wear your arm out fetching anything you'll throw.... Great in the field too. I share this with you because all may not be lost........ Good luck.

[hoythitman]

Don't play fetch games and force fetch him. End of problem

[Low Fence]

Try making it not so "formal". Sit at heal and such. Just get her teased up and throw it

Force fetching is an awesome tool. All my dogs are force fetched.... However most advise on the topic is Misguiding ( especially on this site )

Not all dogs can handle it... Not all dogs will retrieve.... Not all dogs have "it"


I can train a midget for 15 years to play football, don't mean he will make the nfl..... Or make a good jr high player


If a dog has good fundamentals and it retrieving just not reliably to hand, that's when FF is an option. It's not to teach them to fetch, it to force them to do a command that they know

[MTaylor]

I would recommend not "playing retrieve" in the house with anything right now (until he is trained). At his age, the only retrieving he should be doing is when you are working him. Retrieving should be his reward. If he does not want to retrieve on the first bird, get him in and kennel him for 30 min to an hour. Then try again, if he does the same thing, kennel him again. Continue until he retrieves the bird. When he does, praise him and throw him a couple more, then call it quits for the day. At that age his attention span is very short, I would only let him retrieve for 5-10 throws. Keep them short and exciting/fun to where that is all he wants to do.

Start watching some videos too. Farmer, wild rose kennels, etc.

This^

[Kurdawg]

Use the bumpers while at the house play with him with them like they are toys also, maybe get a canvas bumper with wings on it to get him excited.

[Smart]

In for this.


I have a very high breed chocolate right now that is about 8 months old, doing Exactly the same thing. All kinds of energy, excited, fired up, ready to go!!!. Throw a dummy, runs to it, bumps it with her nose and leaves..... I have raised several labs, I have 3 right now. This is the first for me. Im not very happy. I don't even want to tell yall how much money I got in her.....

What is a high breed chocolate?

[EastTx]

What is a high breed chocolate?

Lol

[zr2chevy22]

What is a high breed chocolate?

I think he meant it has a good pedigree and he paid high dollar for it.

With a name like Smart I would expect alittle common sense from ya. hahahahahaha Just razzin ya

[Low Fence]

What is a high breed chocolate?

Literally spit on screen

[texashunter]

Have you ever used those same dummies or bumpers in the house? I would get in a long hallway in your house each day and throw a bumper for him to retrieve. Make it a every day kind of thing and then work your way outside. I'm sure some others might have some input but that is where I would start.

This sounds like it might work.